Maddox threw back the rest of his coffee and made a face. “She doesn’t even know she’s supposed to have some money, does she?”
“No.” I raked a hand through my hair and forced myself not to dig holes in the desktop with my nails. “She thinks he was doing her a favor. All she knows is what the guy told her. That she had nothing.” My jaw clenched. “But I’m working on it. I won’t let her be blindsided.”
Gideon grunted. “You need anything, you ask.”
I nodded. It wasn’t about pride. I just needed to do this right. If we hit the uncle too hard, too fast, it could blow up in Lottie’s face, and she’d end up reliving every nightmare she ever had about being abandoned and unwanted. Not happening.
Maddox changed the subject. “How’s her health?”
I shrugged, but it felt almost like relief. “Steady. She’s eating. Sleeping. I’m checking her numbers myself. She didn’t even flinch today. Just let me do it, like it was the most natural thing in the world.” Something inside me kind of loosened at that. I’d never had anyone let me take over their care like that. Not even my grandmother. “She’s still worried I’ll change my mind. Or get tired of her.”
Maddox’s mouth twisted. “Takes a long time to convince them you mean it.” He held my gaze. “She’ll get there.” I knew he’d gone through a lot with Clare.
“Yeah,” I said, but it sounded more like a promise than a word. “She will.”
Gideon huffed then glanced at us both. “I got a request about a job this morning.” He hesitated. “From Boris Sidorov.” I was silent for a minute, just staring at Gideon while my brain caught up. Maddox whistled, low and sharp.
“The Bratva boss is askingusfor help?”
Gideon nodded. “Called me direct.”
I remembered the day we'd rescued Emily. We got all the women out alive just before they were auctioned off. Alexei Sidorov’s men hadn’t gone down easily, but in the end, Boris’s own people made sure Alexei—his son—was punished. I was pretty sure that was in a permanent way. I’d never been more certain of a man’s word. Boris was a criminal, but he wasn’t a liar. Or a hypocrite.
“He’s got a Little, hasn’t he?” Maddox sounded like he still didn’t believe it.
Gideon nodded, lips quirking. “Katya. She’s…tiny, even smaller than Abby if that’s possible. Red hair in ribbons. Looks like she’d break if you breathed too hard.”
Maddox grinned, teeth bright. “Didn’t see that coming.”
“Me either,” Gideon said, but he smiled like it wasn’t a bad thing. “But we know that’s why he didn’t shoot us for the raid on his son’s operation. Katya’s cousin is the one that needs help.”
I scrubbed a hand over my jaw, struggling to picture a Bratva boss tying shoes for a Little. “So, what’s the job?”
Gideon tapped the folder in front of him. “Katya’s cousin has three-year-old twins. One of the nannies, Molly, vanished three days ago. The cops have nothing. Boris says he’s tried everything. She was last seen at Kingdom, at a private party.”
Maddox frowned. “Have you asked Xavier?” The manager of Kingdom was someone they trusted from when they'd all been in the service.
“He’s on his way. I briefed him already,” Gideon said. “Molly has no immediate family that would raise any immediate concerns. She’s not Bratva, but Katya’s family. As far as Boris is concerned that makes her his problem.”
I leaned back in my chair, thinking it through. “Eric run her?”
“Already did,” Gideon said, flipping the top page around for me to see. “Molly Gilbertson. Twenty-three, college grad, no criminal record, and has just started a BS in childhood development. She works part-time for Katya’s cousin on their live-in nanny’s days off.
We turned at the knock to see Xavier walk in. His suit looked like it cost more than most people’s cars, but he didn’t move like a civilian. He moved like us.
He nodded to us, then set a folder on the table. “Kingdom had a private function on the VIP level last Thursday for a group out of Tampa. Corporate types, at least on paper. They paid cash, used a service to book. The service is owned by a guy namedClark Owens and a woman named Ruby O’Keefe. Both regulars at clubs in the city who specialize in organizing corporate promo events. No red flags, but beyond doing a financial check for those that book private rooms we don’t have the same level of security as you do at Salvation.” We all knew that. Kingdom was simply a nightclub.
He paused, flipping open the folder. “The only connection as far as Eric has found so far is that Molly goes to the same Tai Chi class Ruby does. I’ve spoken to Vanessa, who also knows Molly casually, and who served them that night, and she says Molly got a headache and decided to call a cab, so I pulled up security footage.”
Vanessa was one of our trusted servers.
Xavier grimaced. “Except Molly didn’t go to the main exit, she went to the bathrooms, followed by Ruby. Then they both exited the bathroom just as a fight broke out. You see them heading to the staff exit, which isn’t signposted and only covered by the loading dock cam.” He grimaced. “My security team were called to deal with the fight so there was no one on the door. I’ve got the footage. It’s grainy, but you can see Ruby almost having to hold her up. Molly looks out of it. Drunk or maybe something else.”
Fuck. My stomach twisted. “Did she have a drink at the club?”
“Bar tabs show two gin and tonics, and she didn’t finish the second,” Xavier answered immediately. “Someone could have dosed her, but I trust my bar staff and the server.”
I scrubbed my face, the knot in my chest winding tighter. “Who owns the car?”
